Its 2024!!! Happy new year, or happy new year's eve depending on where in the world you are.
And a great time to begin a new art challenge. I have a list of extinct birds for january, starting (ofc) with the passenger pigeon. These are such a great representative species for extinct birds imo - they used to be one of the most numerous birds on Earth, numbering in the billions, yet they vanished within a century. So gorgeous too!
As a communally roosting bird, their sheer numbers used to snap even large branches and they often piled on top of each other to roost. And then. Poof. None left.
And Then There Were... a miniature counting book that I illustrated and bound by hand. The book is 5 1/2 x 3 inches, and features the extinct Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Heath Hen, Eskimo Curlew, Labrador Duck, Great Auk, Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Bachman's Warbler, Ivory Billed Woodpecker, and Kauai ʻōʻō. Illustrated in traditional pen & ink and watercolor. Like Grasping at Feathers, this book also includes cut-out elements. The concertina-style pages fold out to form one continuous spread. Created as an edition of 5, but I have plans to do another larger run.
On September 1, 1914, Martha, the last-known living Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Her death at age 29 after a lifetime in captivity marked the disappearance of her once-abundant species from the world. And it made her name synonymous with species extinction at human hands. But what happened?
Before the second half of the nineteenth century, the Passenger Pigeon was the most common bird in the United States, with a population numbering in the billions. Flocks of pigeons flying overhead were so dense that they could darken the skies. But a combination of overhunting and habitat destruction sent this species into decline, and by the turn of the century, it was considered extinct in the wild.
None other than the passenger pigeon I originally made in May, 2021. I reworked the original pixels and set out to stitching. This design has 3,106 stitches, so it took me roughly 31+ hours to finish!
Originally, this pattern had flowers, but once I had stitched them, I absolutely hated them. I ripped them all off, scarring the canvas a bit (😞), and redesigned the whole thing. It was not the funnest part of the process.
Anyway, I'm pretty darn happy with the colour palette I hand-picked for this piece. A lot of work went into it 😭 I hope you like her!
Do you have any extinct animals you'd like to cross-stitch? 👁💋👁
bird dump!! Last 3 are a bit silly and all done today because I was busy this weekend. OWLS THOUGH :DDDDDD I love them so ungodly much ASFKSKGLSLJFJTS I really want to draw more owls and probably will
Remember to read about the contestants before voting!
Superb Fairy Wren
The Superb Fairy Wren is a little guy local to southern Australia! The females look much less fancy, but are still adorable. They even have a cute little dance they do to attract mates, using their beautiful feathers in a full dissolution. There are actually many different kinds of fairy wrens. Learn More!
Passenger Pigeon
Although the passenger pigeon is extinct, they still hold a tender place in everyone’s hearts. Hunted to extinction, the Passenger Pigeon used to come in huge flocks of billions. They used to be the most abundant bird in North America. This is part of the reason they went extinct, as efforts to breed them in captivity failed since they needed large flocks to meet their breeding criteria. Learn More!